Agriculture

Agriculture is defined as the domestication of plants and animals and the development of techniques to produce and raise them effectively. It is an extremely crucial part of the human world, but unfortunately its importance is now often forgotten about. Without the practice of agriculture, the world we know today would cease to exist.

The beginning of agricultural practices was a worldwide phenomenon in that they were created independently by different groups of peoples all around the globe. Some of the centers of origin include the Indus Valley, along the Yangtze River, ancient Greece, and along the Nile River. Prior to these agricultural inventions, humans had practiced hunter/gather and nomadic lifestyles. Although humans could sufficiently support themselves, this lifestyle was hard and limited. Agricultural practices began with local environmental and climate changes, which allowed certain plants and animals to succeed and spread. Soon enough, humans learned how to utilize these changes to help themselves. This revolution allowed humans to step away from a difficult nomadic life and create a more permanent place for themselves. Communities created more reliable food sources which allowed their people to grow in every way. Agriculture had profound and everlasting impacts on human demography and genetic variation, culture and the earth’s environments. The shift to a more permanent and stable lifestyle allowed for a boom in human population levels, urbanization, specialization of skills and crafts, and state formation. Agriculture became an essential part of humanity, and still is today.

At CAWRI, we understand the importance of agricultural development and strive to help those in need to reach levels of successful agricultural practices. Our current project, Women Growing a Sustainable Future, will be based in Afghanistan where we will help women create, develop, and sustaining greenhouses to support themselves and their families.